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I don’t travel abroad very often, (especially if it involves a plane,) since my beloved country has wonderful beaches, beautiful mountains, breathtaking islands all within a 4 hour driving range. That is why now that we (Greece) have put ourselves in a bad position, the “developed” northern part of Europe is moving in for the kill…. Noone, no matter how wealthy, wants to spend all their lives in a dull, cloudy environment, and so our nice beaches & failing economy make for the ideal target. OMG, I am becoming like my granfather, rambling off-topic, talking politics in a food blog… let’s get back to cooking & its relevance to me recent travels. Every time I do end up venturing outside of Greece, I am reminded that the true value of the experience is meeting new people, experiencing different ways of life, & seeing diverse cultures. Food is always a big part of any culture, & my recent trip to the Middle east was filled with new flavors & experiences. I loved the spicy teas they treated us to everywhere we went, and the amazing dates that were abundantly present. I had cheese & chocolate made from camel milk and the best lamb I have ever tasted, always accompanied by a fragrant rice side-dish every time I ordered it. One of the dishes that impressed me the most, was this fragrant starter that seemed so representative of the local ingredients and cooking style. This dish however stuck with me and I share with you my attempt to recreate it. Enjoy.

Yea, Mel & I had a little veg. A well deserved putting-up of our exhausted feet. Moving is hard work (especially when one of you is a hoarder, not naming names).

I honestly think I deserve a medal for pulling this off. Trying to cook in our kitchen whilst it looks like an obstacle corse was interesting to say the least. I can’t wait to restore order to it. Looking at all my dishes strewn across the counters is unnerving.

Still, I promised I would do something really good with those gluten-free pita breads we made, & I’m pretty darn good at keeping my promises. Especially when they coincide with my cravings.

Right, back to packing… see you all on the other side of the move! xxx

Did I tell you that we found a puppy? Oh yes. A little, lost, stray puppy & he is just the cutest thing in the world.

Guess what, my dog likes our cooking. Actually, he loves falafels. I know this because on the day we found him, we had made falafels for ‘clean monday’. We kept trying to feed him all sorts of things to get his little belly full, but when he smelt the falafels on the table, he went nuts. We gave in & gave him half of one. Trust me, half was more than enough, he’s only got a tiny little puppy belly…. which is actually getting pretty round now that I think about it.

That’s not all he loves, he’s got a thing for fruit too. Apples, bananas, melon, it’s crazy, and he actually chews his food properly instead of just swallowing it whole. Our dog, the food lover. I have to say, I’m impressed. We called him Sushi Roll (which we also substitute in for little Sashimi, Nagiri, or as Mel calls him… re Dude).

Enough about our puppy though, this isn’t a place where people come to read about our pets, you’re all here for the food… the pet is just a bonus, right?

Right, so, the food. Falafels. What can I say? I think I’ve got a soft sport for falafels. Actually, it’s a soft spot for anything middle eastern. All of those spices, flavors & smells. I think it’s just heavenly. It makes me think of Dubai & miss it pretty good. I’m not talking about Dubai how it is now, I’m talking about Dubai 20 years ago when it was still mostly desert, dunes & amazing beaches. Yes, it is safe to say I love the middle eastern cuisine.

Mel & I made this recipe back when we were still catering a few years ago. It was actually a huge success at the time. Well, it was a huge success with me any way. Every couple of weeks when we would make it, I undoubtedly always ended up eating half of them myself. That’s no small feat either since it yields a couple dozen at least! Still, I hope everyone loves it just as much as I did, do, will always. Yum! Continue reading →

Why is it that some of our favorite foods from any cuisine always have one thing in common? Some sort of bread-like product wrapped around a filling… burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, tacos, souvlaki, pizza -in a way, if you make it a calzone- and my favorite, Peking duck with pancakes. This week we are making burritos, a mexican dish we all know but rarely consume outside the USA or Mexico.

By the way, I would like to say that although I prepare my posts Lauren always screens them before she, and only she can press the publish button… today I did it myself, let’s see what happens….

Why is it that some of our favorite foods from any cuisine always have one thing in common? Some sort of bread-like product wrapped around a filling… burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, tacos, souvlaki, pizza -in a way, if you make it a calzone- and my favorite, Peking duck with pancakes. This week we are making burritos, a mexican dish we all know but rarely consume outside the USA or Mexico.

By the way, I would like to say that although I prepare my posts Lauren always screens them before she, and only she can press the publish button… today I did it myself, let’s see what happens….